Harley-Davidson has taught about 70 percent of Ryder, N.D. eligible residents how to ride free of charge. The other 30 percent just weren’t interested in learning how to ride. “We had people who had never sat on a motorcycle, and when they got done with the class they were comfortable riding,” Mayor Jody Reinisch told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Back in June, we reported on Harley-Davidson’s bold plan to teach an entire American town how to ride a motorcycle. The subject of the experiment was the rural town of Ryder, N.D., which was chosen because its name fits in with the gimmick. Another reason it was chosen is the fact that it only has a population of 84 people, so teaching all eligible citizens to ride isn’t that big of a task.
Regardless, the town of Ryder was very excited to get Harley’s attention. In fact, the it was so eager to work with Harley that it let the motorcycle brand paint their fire hydrants orange and paint their water tower in Harley-Davidson livery. Ryder even briefly changed its name to “Riders” for the riding season.
So, did this actually work as a sales tactic? “About 15 to 20 percent of the population of my town bought new Harley-Davidsons because of this,” Mayor Reinisch told the Journal Sentinel. Granted, 15 to 20 percent of a town of 84 people isn’t a huge sale, but the promotion succeeded at what it set out to do.